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Monday, November 1, 2010

We're happy to have Michelle Buckman with us today talking about her book, Rachel's Contrition. To learn more about Michelle and her book, read on!

Publisher: Sophia Institute Press

Cover blurb: After the death of her daughter, grief-spawned delusions cause Rachel to lose her husband, her home, and custody of her son. Help arrives from two unlikely sources: a young teen, Lilly, battling her own demons, and a tattered holy card depicting Saint Therese of Lisieux. As Rachel grows closer to Lilly and comes to know Saint Therese, unbidden memories from her edgy past reveal fearful mysteries of seduction, madness, and murder… and a truth that will haunt her forever.

1) How did this story come to you?
I was sick at heart several years ago when I heard a ten-second news-blip about parents finding their child dead in a car. I couldn’t quit thinking of how such a tragedy must have affected them. How could they face one another with such a death yawning between them? I wrote some scenes, but didn’t work on the story in earnest until I saw several friends suffer the accidental death of their children. I empathized with their pain and ached over how it tore at the fabric of their lives and relationships. From that anguish, I wrote Rachel’s story—a tale of soul-wrenching loss and the harrowing struggle to heal.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
Years ago, when my agent presented Rachel’s Contrition to publishers, several editors reported that they loved the story and that the writing was excellent, but they were afraid to publish a book with Catholic elements for fear of offending non-Catholic readers, which was very frustrating. However, I refused to change the setting because it is integral to the plot. Instead, I set the manuscript aside until last year when I heard that Sophia Institute Press, a Catholic publisher, had started publishing contemporary fiction. Their acquisitions editor read the manuscript in two days and bought it right away. I’m so glad I waited because Rachel’s Contrition ended up exactly where it needed to be. Sophia Institute Press is a fantastic publisher—fully communicative and supportive every step of the way.
The week it released, Rachel’s Contrition hit #1 on Amazon’s Women’s Fiction list, and remained there for five days; it’s still in the top ten!
The entire adventure has reaffirmed “All in God’s time.”

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
Some readers assume I have a very dark past because of what I write. Fortunately, that is not the case. I have a wonderfully boring, totally happy existence. I write in response the world around me.
When I’m in the throes of creativity, I write from 2am till 5am so I won’t be disturbed, then I go back to bed until my youngest wakes up at 7 or 8.
I live in a 160-year-old house in the middle of nowhere, but I’m a city girl at heart.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I have several new contracts and projects underway, but I’m not at liberty to announce any of them yet.

5) Parting comments?
Rachel’s Contrition is an edgy story, full of strong emotions and woven around a dark events. As reviewer Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur put it, “[Rachel’s Contrition] is a novel that will twist your heart and leave you breathless. You will not want to put it down until you reach the final word at which point you will once again be able to exhale.”

I'm Catholic - convert and found this interesting about your publisher. Congratulations on your book doing so well on Amazon! That's very exciting to have a book ranked so high for that length of time. I'd love to win Rachel's Contrition.

WOW! Michelle's story about Rachel is very appealing to my taste in good reading. I enjoyed Michelle's interview and I agree that her blessing of publishing her book came all in God's time. Thank you for the giveaway and the chance to win Michelle's unusual story. Sure hope I win.